A wide range of medical treatments have been previously developed using "endolumenal prostheses," which terms are herein intended to mean medical devices that are adapted to be implanted within a body lumen. Examples of lumens in which endolumenal prostheses may be implanted include, without limitation: blood vessels, including arteries and veins, and such as for example those located within the coronary, mesentery, peripheral, or cerebral vasculature; the gastrointestinal tract; biliary ducts; the urethra; and fallopian tubes.
Various different types of endolumenal prosthesis have also been developed, each providing a uniquely beneficial structure intended to mechanically couple to the specifically targeted lumenal wall. For example, various stents, grafts, and combination stent-graft prostheses have been previously disclosed for implantation within body lumens in order to provide artificial radial support to the lumenal wall tissue while maintaining lumenal patency through the supported region. One more frequently disclosed arterial "stenting" procedure involves implanting a stent in an artery in order to provide radial support to the vessel to thereby prevent abrupt closure subsequent to recanalization of stenosed regions of the artery, such as by balloon angioplasty or atherectomy (mechanical dilation of stenosed vessel by radial balloon expansion or by direct removal of stenotic plaque, respectively).